I was recently lucky enough to receive a copy of the beautiful new cookbook, Food Files, benefiting Yeshiva of Flatbush. The book is a compilation of beautiful, healthy, seasonal and original recipes from home cooks in Flatbush, Brooklyn. As a food blogger, I’m honored to receive review copies of cookbooks all the time. Sometimes the books are nothing to write home about, and they end up in the growing “give away” pile in the basement. Other times, the books are so beautiful that they’re worthy of your coffee table, and this, my friends, is one of them.

I was pleasantly surprised at the simple yet sophisticated style of this book, the stunning photos and the original recipes. All too often cookbooks are filled with recipes and adaptations of recipes that we’ve all seen before, but Food Files is filled with truly original dishes that capture the inventive cook.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make the marinade: In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients. Mix well and set aside.
Place the turkey breast in a large roaster. Sprinkle the curry powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper evenly over the turkey breast. Put the thyme sprigs inside the cavity of the turkey, between the breast and the bone. Spoon the marinade over the turkey and roast it, uncovered, for 2 hours, basting about every 15 minutes so that the flavors are well
absorbed. If you see that the skin is getting too dark, cover it lightly with foil. Remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
To make the gravy, transfer the juices of the turkey to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. When the liquid is boiling, lower the heat and allow the liquid to simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until it has reduced by half. Add the cornstarch mixture to the liquid and let it simmer until it thickens to a gravy-like consistency, about 2 minutes.
The turkey can be served whole and carved at the table, or it can be served already sliced, with the gravy drizzled on top. Reserve the rest of the gravy to be served on the side.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a bowl, mix the orange juice, apple cider, whiskey, agave, and cinnamon together. Add in the sweet potatoes and stir to coat.
Place the potatoes in a large, lightly oiled oven-to-table baking dish. Crumble the brown sugar on top. Bake for about 1 hour, until the sweet potatoes are glazed and soft.
When the sweet potatoes have come out of the oven, top them with marshmallows. Be generous; they should almost be packed in, and you shouldn’t be able to see the sweet potatoes underneath.
Raise the oven temperature to broil. Broil for a few minutes, until the marshmallows are toasted and golden brown.

I’ve been following Renee Muller for years, and when word got out that she was coming out with a cookbook, I knew it would be something special. You see, Renee doesn’t see food like the rest of us. To her, a table is a canvas, and each dish is another way to paint a beautiful picture. Renee is a food stylist par excellence and her magazines spreads are jaw dropping. I knew the photography would be out of this world, but I was in for even more. In Our Table, Renee invites us to experience the joy of eating memorable meals together, something she cherishes from her upbringing in Lugano, Switzerland. Her recipes are homey, family friendly and diverse. She’s got a little something for everyone – part healthy, part indulgent, some easy and some more complicated. The Chapters span the basics from appetizers and soups/salads to fish/dairy, meat/chicken, snack/sides, breads/cakes/cookies and desserts.

Beautiful photography and a range of mouthwatering recipes wasn’t enough for Renee. So she created a guide with never-before-seen video tutorials of some of her most popular recipes. From “how to stuff cabbage” to “how to cut caramels”, “how to make gnocchi” to “how to braid challah”, these videos are not just visually stunning, they are informative too. (You can watch them here!) You’ll also find a Pesach guide in the book to help you easily adjust many of the recipes and make them holiday approved.

In a large bowl, combine broccoli, spinach, grapefruit, pomegranate seeds, avocado, and cashews.
Prepare the dressing: Place all dressing ingredients into a jar. Blend with an immersion blender until creamy. Drizzle over salad right before serving.

NOTE: A supremed citrus fruit is one that supplies the flesh of the fruit only, no membranes, no pith, only perfect segments that will add a touch of elegance to your salad. It requires a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you will find yourself doing it quite often. Start by trimming off the stem end of the fruit, including about 1/4-inch of flesh, using a small sharp knife. Repeat with other end. Arrange fruit to sit flat on a work surface. Following the contour of the fruit, slice away the peel and white pith from top to bottom. You want to make sure the flesh is visible and you are left with no white pith. Working over a bowl or sink, hold the fruit in one hand. With your other hand, cut alongside one membrane and then alongside the adjacent membrane, releasing the supreme. Carefully transfer segments to a bowl. Repeat until all supremes are removed. Now you will be able to taste the fruit only, with no bitterness whatsoever. I find that even my pickiest eater will enjoy an otherwise daunting grapefruit, if served this way. Try it.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, on medium speed, combine softened butter, eggs, and yolks; beat until butter is broken down a bit, about 2 minutes. Add sugar; continue to mix. Slowly add flour and baking powder. Mix until a nice, soft dough forms. (Dough might seem sticky, but that’s OK, once it’s chilled it will be more manageable.) Divide the dough into 3 parts. Place each part into a separate resealable plastic bag; refrigerate, preferably for a few hours or overnight.

Prepare the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine all filling ingredients until creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare standard or mini muffin pans.

Using a box grater, grate one piece of well-chilled dough onto a plate. If the dough hasn’t chilled enough, place it into the freezer for a bit. Refrigerate grated dough until ready to use.
Remove remaining dough from the fridge. Working with one piece at a time, roll out dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut rounds with a 3½-inch round cookie cutter or glass. Place rounds into a muffin tin, pushing down and pressing sides to cover all sides. Fill each with a heaping tablespoon of filling.

Place 1-2 tablespoons grated dough over each cheese pocket (be generous; this is what makes the pockets pretty), pressing down gently to attach them to the cheese filling.
Bake cheese pockets, 25-30 minutes, until golden. Let cool; dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the Kosher by Design Brings it Home VIRTUAL BOOK RELEASE PARTY! I’ve been a fan of Susie Fishbein since the early years, before there was a Busy In Brooklyn and the only things I knew how to cook came out of a cookbook. When I got married, her books were my go-to for Shabbos and Yom Tov meals and everything in between. In the early days of BIB, I posted some of her recipes like this, this and this and was honored to attend her book release party for KBD Cooking Coach where I met her in person for the first time.

I have a deep respect for Susie’s work because she was the go-to kosher recipe developer before there were hundreds of cookbooks to compete with, an endless supply of free recipes on the web to copycat and growing network of kosher foodies who share, connect and interact in the industry. Fishbein literally set the groundwork for all the kosher cookbooks to come with her solid cookbook collection filled with original and unique recipes as well as beautiful food photography. I’ve followed Susie’s journey through the years and I’m thrilled to see a culmination of her travels in her last of the KBD series, Bringing it Home.

As a foodie, I have learned that the only way to really expand your culinary horizons is to travel. Traveling opens your eyes to unique ingredients, food combinations and flavors that you never thought of or experienced. Not all of us have the luxury to host culinary tours throughout the world, so luckily Susie has done the work for us. In Kosher by Design Brings It Home, she fills us in on her travels throughout Israel, France, Italy and Mexico, sharing food traditions and fiercely guarded recipes that are unique to those regions. It’s an honor to have an inside look into restaurant and chef’s recipes throughout the kosher world and I can’t wait to start cooking more cultural cuisine!

Ranchero SoupReproduced from Kosher by Design Brings it Home, by Susie Fishbein, with permission from the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.

When teaching a class on Passover cooking at the Ritz Carlton in Cancun one year, I wanted to create a Southwestern soup that did not contain beans. This keeper, with its egg-drop soup effect, is so simple and is brightened with a pop of chilies, lime juice, and silky avocado.

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion; cook until translucent, 5-6 minutes; do not allow it to brown. If it begins to brown, lower the heat. Add the garlic; cook for additional 3-4 minutes, until garlic is shiny.

Add the tomatoes with their liquid. If they are whole, use your hand to squeeze and burst them. Add the stock. Simmer, uncovered, over low heat, for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk the soup and while whisking, slowly drizzle in the eggs, whisking all the time. Simmer for 4 minutes. Ladle into bowls.

In a small bowl, stir together the jalapeño, avocado, scallions, cilantro, and lime juice. Top each bowl with a spoonful of this garnish. Serve a lime wedge with each bowl.

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a cookbook. OK maybe I do. It was Ottolenghi’s Plenty More. But other than Ottolenghi books, I don’t usually count the days until a cookbook comes out. It’s different when that cookbook is written by a friend and fellow kosher blogger, and when it’s jam-packed with mouthwatering desserts. Only desserts.

The talented Miriam Pascal of OvertimeCook has been giving me (and all her readers!) sneak peeks into her cookbook for months now. As a foodie friend and fellow food photographer, I got a behind-the-scenes look at Miriam’s amazing photography, and I couldn’t wait to see it in print. Miriam and I started our blogs around the same time, back in 2011. We both had little experience with photography, but as our blogs grew, our photography improved and so did our traffic. As a food blogger, Miriam takes the cake (literally) for the most amazing desserts that she posts on her blog, as well as in her food column for Ami Magazine. I’m not much of a baker, but when I actually feel like shlepping out my kitchenaid, I turn to Miriam for delicious, no-fail recipes every time. I’m so proud of her achievement, that I even filled in for her, guest posting on her blog while she was busy putting the finishing touches on this book.

Leave it to Miriam, I just knew there would be no stone left unturned in her cookbook. She has literally covered all the bases, from a baking guide, to ingredient substitutions, kitchen equipment, baking tips and a holiday guide. I love the range of desserts she covers, including cookies and bars, cakes and cupcakes, muffins and pastries, pies and tarts, desserts and party treats, candy and chocolate, drinks and frozen treats and finally, frosting and toppings. That last one seriously has me drooling. I am a frosting addict.

Now not only did Miriam cover pretty much every dessert you can think of, she also listened closely to her reader’s requests, and developed recipes like no-margarine chocolate chip cookies, no-margarine sugar cookies, healthy muffins, egg-free chocolate mousse and even a coconut oil pie crust (I truly appreciate this one!). The best part about the recipes in Something Sweet is that they are truly accessible. Nothing is over-the-top fancy and all the recipes use basic ingredients that we can all find in our pantry.

Many of my followers know that I’m not a big baker, so I truly appreciate the clearly written recipes, thoughtful variations and plan ahead options. I don’t think there’s a single recipe in Something Sweet that overwhelms me, and that says a lot! Some of the recipes I’ve got my eye on include the bourbon pecan snowball cookies, gingerbread biscotti, oatmeal cookie wedges, honey sour cream pound cake and cinnamon cheese buns.

It doesn’t get more perfect than gorgeous photos, great recipes and an all-around well-written book. Congrats to Miriam on this tremendous achievement!

I’m excited to be giving away a copy of SOMETHING SWEET just in time for the holidays! To enter:

Comment on this post and share your favorite “something sweet” (it can be food or dessert).

For an extra entry, follow Busy In Brooklyn via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Just be sure to leave a note in the comment letting me know where you follow.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents (for international entries, prize can only be shipped in the U.S.). Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on Monday, September 21st, 2015.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard (12-cup) cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, on medium speed, beat together oil and sugar until smooth and creamy.
3. Add vanilla, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and eggs. Beat until combined.
4. Alternately add half the flour and half the pomegranate juice, beating after each addition until incorporated.
5. Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each cup about three-quarters full.
6. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the tops are set. Remove from oven; cool completely before glazing.
7. Prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice; mix until smooth. Gradually add an additional 1-3 teaspoons juice if needed to form a thick but spreadable glaze.
8. Dip the tops of the cooled cupcakes into the glaze, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if desired.

Variation: The flavors of pomegranate and chocolate go really well together, so you can frost these with Chocolate Fudge Frosting (page 188).

Plan Ahead: These cupcakes freeze well in an airtight container. For best results, freeze them without the glaze and add it just before serving, but you can glaze them before freezing if necessary. Be sure to let the glaze set before you cover the cupcakes.

I’m super excited for this Chanukah blog post because WE’RE HAVIN’ A PARTY! Albeit a virtual one, but we can still have fun, right?! And all parties have to have prizes, so there’s a great GIVEAWAY too!

I got together with a few other bloggers to create a virtual menu and I was assigned the drinks. Now when I think of Chanukah, I imagine sitting by the lights of the Menorah, snuggled up under a warm blanket, sipping hot chocolate and singing Chanukah songs. The kids are around me playing draidel (ok, fighting over draidel), and my husband is frying latkes in the kitchen. Yes, Chanukah is just about the only time I let him take over and make a mess! He learned to make perfect crispy fried latkes when he was in Yeshiva in Israel and I don’t mind getting a little break from cooking so the kitchen’s all his (for at least a night..or two).

While hubby hosts a fryfest, I like to mix up a warm drink – some mulled wine, spiced apple cider, or gelt hot chocolate, obviously. I came up with this fun Chanukah version of hot chocolate based on a drink that my friends and I used to order at a place called Cafe K, back in the old days. Cafe K is still around, and they might still serve it! It was called “Torino Hot Chocolate”, after the chocolate bar that was used to make it. They’d take a whole bar of this chocolate and pour hot milk over it, and that was it! It was a dreamy confection and we’d save up our calories to splurge on it in the winter. It would warm us up from the inside out and we’d relish each and every sip!

I thought it would be fun to do the same with some chocolate Chanukah gelt! It makes a great party drink – just put out a vase filled with chocolate gelt, an urn of hot milk, and an endless selection of toppings and you’ve got yourself an amazing hot chocolate bar that will be the talk of your Chanukah party!

And now for the rest of our virtual party menu, check out the mouthwatering dishes from these talented bloggers:

Unwrap the chocolate gelt and place on the bottom of a glass. Bring the milk up to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Add sugar and cinnamon and stir until chocolate is fully melted and incorporated. Top with whipped cream and serve with a cinnamon stick and chocolate gelt.

Last week, I summed up just what my ebook has to offer in this post but I couldn’t resist hosting a giveaway for y’all too! It also gives me a chance to give you more of a glimpse into some of the recipes I developed during my Whole30. You’ll find them all in my Paleo 30-Day meal plan.

Smoky braised chicken & collards, dinner, Day 8

I hadn’t really planned on another ebook post for a while, but when you’re up at 3 AM, jetlagged on the other side of the world, you’ve got a lot of times of your hands! Regards from down under! (The toilets really do flush the other way around on this side of the world).

Tuna avocado cucumber rolls with spicy mayo, lunch, Day 19

This whole eBook experience has been seriously surreal. I never went on the Whole30 with the intention of writing an ebook. It just sorta happened. One day I was cooking up sugar free, grain free and dairy free recipes, and the next I was collaborating them into a 50 page meal plan with over 100 recipes!

Grilled chicken shawarma plate, dinner, Day 10

And then, before I could even think about what was happening, I went live and the book actually sold. And sold some more. And every day, as the orders roll in, I just pinch myself and wonder, “Did I really just sell a cookbook?”

Paleo Pad Thai with spicy almond butter sauce, dinner, Day 9

The very next day after my ebook went live, I joined Naomi Nachman on her radio show, Table for Two, to make my Paleo Pad Thai live from Gourmet Glatt (a kosher supermarket in Cedarhurst). You can watch my interview and demo here!

Green bean salad (served with tuna nicoise patties), lunch, Day 26

I’m a firm believier that everything happens for a reason and I know my ebook had to evolve in the way that it did because otherwise it would never have happened! I’m way too much of a perfectionist to let anything go without it being William-Morrow-ready. And yet, I knew that the recipes spoke for themselves, so I just went for it (thanks to a lot of encouragement from family and friends)!

Roasted vegetable salad with poached egg, breakfast, Day 2

And thanks to you, my readers, for your constant support and feedback! Your comments, posts and emails encourage me to keep going bigger and better. You’ve helped turn my little corner of the blogosphere into more than just a hobby! Hopefully a real, hardcover (William Morrow published!) cookbook will be next on the list! (That’s a lot of explanation marks for one paragraph! I must be excited :) or overtired…or both!)

Sweet potato chili, dinner, Day 2

So finally….back to the Giveaway details!

To enter the Paleo 30-Day Meal Plan Giveaway, leave a comment sharing your favorite Busy In Brooklyn recipe. You can also follow Busy In Brooklyn via any of the channels below for an extra entry (one entry per follow). Just be sure to leave a note in the comment letting me know where you follow.

Anyone who reads my blog knows I’m not the biggest baker (understatement) so I was a little intimidated going in to this book of heavenly pastries. The Holiday Kosher Baker is written by Paula Shoyer, a graduate of the esteemed Ritz Escoffier pastry program in Paris. Shoyer is a regular contributor to countless kosher websites, and has appeared on The Food Network’s Sweet Genius. She is the author of “The Kosher Baker: 160 Dairy Free Desserts from Traditional to Trendy.”

The Holiday Kosher Baker begins with a kosher baking encyclopedia – literally everything you need to know about baking equipment, tips, techniques and tools. It continues with recipes categorized by the Jewish holiday, including, Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, Passover and Shavuot. Most of the recipes are accompanied by a beautiful picture, as well as detailed instructions even a novice can understand. And of course, you’ll be sure to find invaluable baking tips along the way.

There’s something for everyone in The Holiday Kosher Baker. Easy one bowl recipes for non-bakers like me, and fancier multiple-step recipes for those who like to patchke in the baking department. There’s also low sugar, vegan, gluten-free and nut-free recipes for those on a special diet. The book is truly a holiday baking manifesto, complete with over 45 Passover recipes as well as traditional and contemporary holiday desserts.

Paula’s exceptional baking skills are clearly evident in this book, as are the years of hard work she put into it. While the graphics and photos are nice, I’m a little puzzled by the layout. Instead of having one recipe per page, one recipe leads into another, making the text appear overwhelming.

Busy In Brooklyn is giving away a copy of The Holiday Kosher Baker! To enter the giveaway, follow one, or all, of my media channels below. You will receive one entry per media channel that you follow. Leave a comment below letting me know where you have followed me.

1. Place the margarine and brown sugar in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add the egg, molasses, and vanilla and beat until mixed in.

2. Add 2 cups of the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon; if you are using an electric mixer, mix carefully so the flour does not dust your face. Add the last cup of flour and mix until combined. The dough will be gooey.

3. Place two large pieces of plastic wrap on your counter. Place half of the dough on one piece of plastic and the remaining half on the other. For each half of the dough, fold the plastic over the dough and then flatten it into a pancake, about ½- to 1-inch thick. Freeze overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Remove one disc of dough from the freezer and let it sit for 5 minutes; you want to roll it out while it is just barely soft enough to roll. You will need to bake in batches. Take two pieces of parchment and sprinkle a little flour on one, place dough on top and then dust with a little more flour. Place the second piece of parchment on top of the dough and roll on top of the parchment to roll out the dough until it is a little thicker than ¼-inch thick; do not roll too thin. Every few rolls, peel back the top parchment and sprinkle a little more flour on the dough from about 10 inches high, so you do not get big white spots on the dough. Remove the top parchment and use it to line a cookie sheet. Line another cookie sheet with fresh parchment.

6. Use cookie cutters to cut out cookies and then use a metal flat-blade spatula to lift the cookies and place them on the prepared cookie sheets. Use a pastry brush on the cookies to dust off any excess flour. Reroll any scraps and cut more cookies, adding a little flour each time, taking care not to roll the scraps too thin. If the dough becomes too soft and gets stuck to the bottom parchment, put it in the freezer until it hardens slightly. Repeat with the second disc of dough.

7. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until the cookies are set. When they are done, you should be able to press into them slightly. Slide the parchment off the cookie sheet onto a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 1 minute, and then use a spatula to lift the cookies onto the rack.

Put the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk well. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, and then drizzle onto the cookies. Once the glaze has dried, store the cookies in an airtight container for up to six days or freeze for up to three months.

NOTE: The aleph-bet cookie cutters shown here are from thekoshercook.com.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Place 6 tablespoons of the butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt. You will need a 9 – 10 inch springform pan. Cover the top of the pan bottom with aluminum foil, and then wrap the foil under the bottom. Attach the pan sides to the bottom and lock and then unwrap the foil and wrap up around the sides of the pan. Take the other tablespoon of butter and rub around the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the pan into a large roasting pan with sides higher than 2 inches.

Process the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade until finely ground. Add the sugar and mix. Heat the remaining 6 tbsp butter in a microwave-safe bowl for 15-20 seconds, until the butter softens. Add the butter to the food processor bowl and mix it into the crumbs. Spoon clumps of the mixture into the prepared pan and press it into and cover the bottom of the pan. Set the pan aside.

Place the cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer or blender and whisk or mix until smooth. Scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and scrape down the bowl each time to make sure all the cream cheese and eggs are being mixed in and the mixture looks creamy. Add the 1 ¼ cups sugar, lemon zest and vanilla and mix until everything is combined. Pour the batter on top of the graham crackers in the pan.

Place the roasting pan and cake on the middle rack of the oven and pour boiling water into the roasting pan, around the cheesecake pan, until the water reaches one-third to half way up the sides of the pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Leave the cake in the oven for an hour. Remove the cake from the roasting pan and let cool on a rack until the cake is completely cooled. Place in the fridge 5 hours or overnight.

To serve, combine the sour cream, and confectioner’s sugar in a small bowl. Spoon the mixture on the top of the cake and spread to form a circle almost as large as the cake. Decorate as desired. Store in the fridge for up to five days or freeze (without the fruit on top) for up to three months.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about my (not so) little obsession with speculoos. I first made Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with speculoos cream cheese frosting and then I moved on to speculoos pancakes. As the speculoos obsession began to die down, I nearly forgot about the fantastic spiced cookies, until my brother brought me back a few samples that he got on the plane to Israel. One bite and I was transported back to speculoos heaven. So…I decided to transport you all as well, with this amazing speculoos Chex party mix that I made back during my Lotus-cookie-addiction-days.

If you’re not familiar with speculoos, it’s a spiced shortcrust biscuit, or what Lotus (a popular manufacturer of speculoos cookies) calls, “The Original Caramelized Biscuit.” Speculoos cookies have been a popular treat in Belgium for years, and are sometimes referred to as Lotus or Biscoff cookies. Their popularity reached new heights, when a few years ago, a woman won a television contest for inventing a sweet spread made from the cookies. Speculoos spread went viral, with many companies, like Trader Joes, selling their own versions.

Have you ever had Chex Muddy Buddies (also known as puppy chow)? You know, that addictive cereal snack with chocolate and peanut butter that’s covered in powdered sugar? Well, I decided to create a speculoos-flavored version, coating the cereal in toffee and dusting it in ground up Lotus cookie powder. I don’t even have to tell you that it tastes even better than it sounds, because you can practically see for yourself.

If you’re drooling over the screen wondering, “How on earth does she expect me to make these if I can’t get my hands on kosher Lotus cookies?” I’ll tell you how. Because I feel for all you speculoos-deprived people, I asked my cousin in The Netherlands to send me over some kosher-certified speculoos goodies (thanks Chaya!) and I’m going to generously share them with you in my SPECULOOS GIVEAWAY!

In a large pot, melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, whisking the mixture so that it combines into a caramel . Once it has begun boiling, let it bubble for approximately 3 minutes, until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour the cereal into the pot and stir gently with a spatula to coat. Spread cereal out on a parchment-lined baking sheet to set.

In a food processor or blender, pulse the lotus cookies until crumby. Pour into a large Ziploc bag. Add caramel-coating Chex to Ziploc and shake to coat the cereal.

I know we’ve been having lots of giveaways lately, but when I was presented with the opportunity to share a beautiful gift basket from Manhattan Fruitier with one of my readers, I just couldn’t let it slide. With the New Year upon us, I wanted to take the opportunity to share some sweet fruit and gourmet honey with you.

Manhattan Fruitier generously hand-delivered the above-pictured basket to my home. It was beautifully wrapped in elegant packaging with a personalized note. The basket included:

Orly Ziv, a nutritionist and cooking instructor from Tel Aviv Israel, is a cook after my own heart. In her debut cookbook, Cook In Israel, Orly showcases recipes that draw on her Greek Jewish Heritage, with flavors of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Her entire first chapter is dedicated solely to eggplant and tomatoes, ingredients which are central to my kitchen. Page after page, Orly’s simple, healthy and flavorful recipes are ones you would find on my dining table any day of the week.

Cook In Israel bears the subtitle “Home Cooking Inspiration” and that is precisely what Orly’s book is all about. In a warm family-oriented way that is customary for Israelis, Ms. Ziv welcomes you into her kitchen with open arms. Her book is clear, simple and straight-forward, with many step by step photos to help guide you along the cooking process. Orly shares family favorites, holiday dishes and an expansive array of vegetarian recipes that are mainstays in Middle Eastern culture.

What is most impressive to me is that Orly self-published this beautiful collection of recipes with masterful results. The typography, layout and picture-perfect photography can only be matched by her clear and concise style of recipe writing – a welcome change from most cookbooks (which include too much commentary).

As someone who relishes Middle Eastern cuisine, this book lacks traditional Israeli fare like “al ha-esh” bbq , shishkebab and other chicken & meat recipes. It is somewhat confusing that Orly only makes slight mention of the fact that her book is almost entirely vegetarian, with only two meat recipes, which in my opinion, are better left out altogether. As someone who is not ready to give up her carnivorous ways, this cookbook still offers countless recipes that are filling and flavorful, such as breads, fish, grains and legumes.

Vegetarian or not, Cook In Israel is a keeper after all.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Busy In Brooklyn is thrilled to be able to give away a copy of Cook in Israel to one of my readers!

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/340°F.
2. Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl by hand or in a mixer.
3. Pour the batter into a large, greased cake pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Fish with Green Tahini SauceReprinted with permission from Cook In Israel by Orly Ziv, Home Cooking Inspiration

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
2. Pour olive oil in a thin, even layer to coat the bottom of a baking dish.
3. Arrange slices of tomato along the bottom of the baking dish and top with the fish filets. Spread the chickpeas on top, if using.
4. Using a hand blender or food processor, mix the tahini, parsley, cilantro, garlic, lemon juice, water and salt until smooth and green diluted sauce.
5. Pour the tahini sauce over the fish and bake for about 20 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
6. Remove from the heat and serve.

VARIATION: To make fish with red tahini sauce, mix together 1 chopped tomato with the tahini, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and salt as directed above (omit the cilantro). Leave out
the tomato slices and chickpeas from the recipe above, pour the red tahini sauce over the fish, and continue as directed.